In 1914, the heir to the Austrian throne was killed in Sarajevo in Bosnia. Austria-Hungary
attacked Serbia, bringing Russia into the war, and Austria-Hungary's ally Germany
attacked France through the neutral country of Belgium. The invasion of Belgium
caused Britain to join the war, supported by soldiers from the dominions and colonies
of the British Empire. Turkey joined Germany and Austria-Hungary (the Central
Powers), extending the war to Gallipoli and to parts of the Middle East. Italy
was neutral at the start, but later joined on the same side as Britain's side
(the Allies). Russia and Germany made peace after the Russian revolution in 1917,
but American forces joined the Allies early in 1918.

Many of the largest battles were in France and Belgium (the Western Front). Soldiers
dug lines in the mud called trenches. Machine guns, explosives and poison gas
were used in the fighting. The misery of trench warfare can be understood by reading
the poems of poets such as Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon. The Germans used
U-boats (submarines) to attack British ships, and zeppelins (airships filled with
hydrogen) to bomb England. Aircraft began to be used by both sides first for collecting
information, and later for bombing. Tanks were used for the first time.

The war ended after a successful attack by the Allies, supported by American soldiers.
A peace agreement was signed which started at 11am on 11th November 1918. Nearly
1 million British men died and over 2 million were wounded during the war (more
than 8 million people were killed in total). Most British towns have a war memorial
listing the names of the local people who died in the war (the names of those
who died in the Second World War were added later). Remembrance Day is on the
Sunday closest to 11th November: there is a big ceremony at the Cenotaph in the
Mall in London, and there is a two-minute silence at 11am. For photos from this
event, see: Ideas/Album/RemembranceSunday.
People buy poppies and wear these to remember people who have died (poppies are
a symbol of the war because they grew in the battlefields on the Western Front).
This tradition is now used to remember those who have died in all wars.

Politics
Margaret Thatcher was replaced as leader of the Conservative party by John Major,
who won the general election in 1992 against a Labour party led by Neil Kinnock.
However, in the 1997 general election the Labour party won a landslide victory
under the leadership of Tony Blair, who also won the two following general elections.
A Scottish Parliament was created in 1999, transferring some local decision-making
powers from London to Edinburgh. A Welsh Assembly was created in Cardiff. In Northern
Ireland a peace process led eventually to the establishment of a Northern Ireland
Assembly in 2007, including both unionists (who want Northern Ireland to remain
part of the UK) and republicans (who want Northern Ireland to join the Republic
of Ireland). The former chancellor Gordon Brown is due to take over as the British
Prime Minister in July 2007.

War
Following the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq's leader Saddam Hussein, British troops
were part of an international coalition force backed by the United Nations. This
first Gulf War quickly drove out Iraqi forces from Kuwait. British soldiers were
involved in Nato operations in the Balkans following the break-up of the Yugoslav
Federation. After attacks on New York and Washington by Al Qaida in September
2001 (commonly known as 9/11), the US president George W. Bush declared a "war
on terror". Britain joined an international coalition of forces in Afghanistan
(Al Qaida's base). It also took part in the American-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
A series of terrorist attacks on public transport in London on July 7 2005 (commonly
known as 7/7) caused over 50 deaths and 700 injuries.

Economics
The pound joined the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), tracking the German mark,
but market pressures forced Britain to leave this on Black Wednesday in September
1992. After this time the British economy enjoyed a long period of low inflation
and strong growth. The Bank of England was given control of setting interest rates
- previously the Government made these decisions, influenced by political considerations.
Most European Union countries adopted the euro in 2002, but the UK kept the pound
as its currency.